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The Editor's Desk: Broun OK with taking federal role in education

updated Monday, September 9, 2013 - 6:30pm

Apparently, there is some federal intervention into public education that U.S. Rep. Paul Broun, R-Ga., doesn’t mind at all — his own.

In a letter datelined Monday, intended for distribution to schools throughout his 10th Congressional District, Broun notes that Sept. 17 is Constitution Day, and writes that he “would like to take this opportunity to encourage teachers across the 10th Congressional District to take an hour out of their lesson plans to educate students on the importance of the Constitution and its role in the federal government.”

Broun goes on to write that he “would love to hear from student (sic) on why the Constitution is important to them and what they have learned about it. Please encourage them to write me at 3706 Atlanta Highway, Suite 2, Athens, GA 30606, and I would be happy to respond to them by letter.”

Broun closes by writing that it’s “never too early to read and study the Constitution, so please relay that message from their Congressman.”

In an email announcing the letter, the congressman is quoted as saying, “I urge educators not just in Georgia, but all over this nation to teach our students about the importance of constitutionally-limited government. I look forward to hearing what the students of Georgia’s 10th Congressional district have learned about the Constitution as well as what individual liberty means to them.”

One can only hope that some smart-aleck high school kid will suggest to the congressman that to him, “individual liberty” means being left the heck alone by the federal government, including its elected officials.

And, lest we forget, the Rep. Paul Broun urging teachers from his federal perch to dedicate an hour to instruction on the Constitution is the same congressman who has suggested that the federal Department of Education be shut down, in part because the average salary of the “fat-cat bureaucrats” working in the agency is slightly more than $100,000, money that he believes could be better spent paying teachers.

Broun’s salary as a congressman? $174,000. And no, I haven’t heard about him giving up any of that to help teachers in the 10th Congressional District.

Some days, y’all, this job is just too easy.

‘DOONESBURY’ UPDATE: Regular readers of the Athens Banner-Herald’s editorial page have no doubt noticed that for the past several weeks, there haven’t been any new “Doonesbury” comic strips.

The reason is that the strip’s creator, Garry Trudeau, is working on a streaming video program for Amazon Prime, a division of online retailer Amazon. The program, “Alpha House,” stars John Goodman as one of four Republican congressmen sharing a house in Washington, D.C.

“Alpha House” is expected to debut in November, and Trudeau will remain on partial hiatus from “Doonesbury” through the middle of that month. He will continue to draw new Sunday strips, but weekday and Saturday readers will see “Doonesbury Flashback” strips until Nov. 18.

TWITTER: I’m @Jim__Thompson, where I try to offer thoughts throughout the day on issues large and small, for your elucidation and edification.

And just so you’ll know, I learned the words “elucidation” and “edification” in public school.